Before and After. . .
Emails from photographers have been rolling in with tons of questions. I figured it would be best to address these in a blog post for all to see in hopes it will also help others.
First. . . Thank YOU! I love getting your compliments and questions! It means more to me than you could ever know. Keep them coming!
To answer a couple of these questions. . .
1. I shoot JPG. . . used to shoot RAW and JPG for peace of mind in case I screwed setting up. Then after realizing I never needed them. . . I began to let go.
2. My #1 rule is GET IT RIGHT IN CAMERA!!!!!! Oh my. . when you first start out its easy to get in the habit of telling yourself “its ok, i will fix it later.” HA-HA 13 hours and multiple hand cramps later you are wishing you wouldn’t have been so lazy. I have been asked by 10 photographers just this week what type of camera and lenses I use. This is a great question. However, my equipment has little to do with my images SOOC (straight out of camera.) Hand me any DSLR from the last 10 years and I can give you the same result because I know how to get it right in camera. And in the situations that I don’t. . . . I pause. . . think. . . and figure out how. There is nothing wrong with doing this at a shoot. I used to be afraid my clients would think that I had no clue what I was doing. LOL Then I asked myself why they hired me.
3. I use outdoor lighting. This allows me to expose to my background and fill in my subject for more dramatic shots OR just gives the image that extra pop of color and depth it needs, which most photographers are accomplishing with editing.
4. Know your camera. I know these new cameras can make it super easy to cheat. However, if you don’t know how to manipulate your settings to get the desired effect in camera, you will never be able to set yourself apart from the 50 photographers down the street shooting with the same camera. And no I am not just talking about shooting in manual mode. . 
5. The SUN. . . oh boy. . . I could rant on this a while but will refrain. Know how to work around the sun. Using the sun for sun flares, sun haze, or blowing out the image is destroying the subject clarity. It makes me sad. I hear these techniques called “artistic.” 
Everyone has a style. Everyone is put in situations where we have to adjust and deal with the available light, but please take the time to learn how to work with these lighting situations so that your image doesn’t suffer. I won’t even get started on over use of props. That’s a blog post all on its own 
6. Editing VS Processing. When you hear these words, what is your impression of each? For me, when I was editing, I was spending up to 30-50 minutes on each image. WHAT?!!! Who has time for this? When it finally clicked . . . I was able to get the images I wanted SOOC. All that was left then was to “process” the images. This consists of 10-30 seconds of minor adjustments on each image. Maybe and action or two, resizing and adding logo if necessary. It takes me just as long to put my images in those fancy web frames and match the color of the frame to the image as it does for me to “process” the image.
Finally. . . You should know this all took me years to learn! I have seen only a couple of photographers in my career able to master these techniques in the first couple years. It will come with time, experience, and most importantly . . . making mistakes. You cant learn without messing a few things up along the way.
My advice. . .
Surround yourself with photographers you look up to and are willing to share their knowledge.
Learn from them. They have made all the mistakes already and learned from them! Invest in your continued education. Budget this in every year.
Photographers that think they know it all and they are “masters of all” are the ones who fail.
Always be hungry to learn more.
I may master new techniques but I will never “master” photography. I will never know all there is to know. And I dont have all the answers, despite what my husband thinks.
Teaching other photographers is my way of spreading the wealth of knowledge that others have given me. I encourage you to do the same. Even if you are only in year 2. . . . there are thousands of photographers in year 1 desperate to know what you have learned.
Here is a link to my workshop page if you are interested in attending http://leahhoskins.me/workshops
If you ever have any questions, I am an open book!
Cheers!
Tags: Camera, Digital single-lens reflex camera, editing, light, outdoor lighting, Photography, processing, Techniques and Styles
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